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Into The Closed World of State Mental Hospitals

Mental institutions - especially the palatial old ones - are some of the creepiest places on Earth. At the same time, they're institutional design and unusual contents make for beautiful photographic opportunities. Christopher Payne chronicles many of the late 19th and early 20th century buildings in his new book, Asylum. As the synopsis on the book states, "in the second half of the twentieth century, after the introduction of psychotropic drugs and policy shifts toward community-based care, patient populations declined dramatically, leaving many of these beautiful, massive buildings—and the patients who lived in them—neglected and abandoned." Maddeningly beautiful shots:

Go Forth

Love The Open Road With All Your Heart

I do.

Mikey Burton

He claims to wear his Ohio-shaped heart on his sleeve:

Gun Play

Taylor White

I've been too busy to post much lately, so here's another while I have a second. Taylor White:

On the Road / On the Hunt

Right now in Warrenton / Round Top, Texas, one of the best antique shows in all the land is taking place. It's only about 70 miles from my house, but I've done about 1200 miles so far back and forth scoring all sorts of great stuff - some that's now at Uncommon Objects and some that's going in a new store that I'm opening with a few folks in November. A few of the finds:

Hugh Leeman

Graphite on Walls:

Animal Logic

Photos by Richard Barnes:

Hidden Faces

I've worked at Uncommon Objects in Austin for almost five years now. Tomorrow will be my last day on staff. (I'm keeping my space so please keep buying my stuff). It'll be a bittersweet day because exciting ventures lie ahead (more later), but I've had some very, very good times there. With the customers, fellow staffers, with the amazing objects we sell. Over the years I've met some amazing people and characters who will always hold a dear place in my heart. But enough with the sappiness. I came across a blog this morning called Square America that features a section of photos with people covering their faces or their faces being obscured by something. It made me think of Uncommon because we have many customers who collect certain types of vintage photos. Train photos. Shadow photos. Photos of men working. The list goes on and on and on. So, this guy obviously collects photos of obscured faces. Cool stuff:

Graphics from...

Edwin Europe Zine: